


crystal broad

by scorpionGrass



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Post-Advent Children (Compilation of FFVII)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:27:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26643730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scorpionGrass/pseuds/scorpionGrass
Summary: Ever since Rufus Shinra had decided to be the WRO’s mysterious anonymous beneficiary, the Turks have done nothing but menial and pointless tasks. So when Reeve Tuesti, head of the WRO and their new boss on paper, calls them in, Reno answers.“Vincent Valentine would like an escort,” he says. “And a bodyguard.”Reno scoffs. “Since when does he need either of those?”
Relationships: Lucrecia Crescent/Vincent Valentine
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13
Collections: Trick or Treat Exchange 2020





	crystal broad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [redsixwing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/redsixwing/gifts).



“What does he do in there, anyway?” Reno asks over the comms.

Elena glances back at the cave’s entrance, where Vincent Valentine had disappeared over an hour ago. The crevice in the mountain leads into a crystal-studded room, but she only knows this because of the way they glow brightly in the darkness, throwing the rocky walls and uneven ground into stark relief. Beyond that, though, she can’t see anything, nevermind whatever Vincent Valentine is doing.

“I don’t know,” she says, “but it has to be important, right?”

There’s nothing but static in response, and Elena finds herself annoyed by this whole task all over again.

~

Ever since Rufus Shinra had decided to be the WRO’s mysterious anonymous beneficiary, the Turks have done nothing but menial and pointless tasks. So when Reeve Tuesti, head of the WRO and their new boss on paper, calls them in, they answer.

The ex-President of Shin-Ra sends Reno.

The drive from Healen is long and boring and full of detours considering all of the reconstruction the WRO has had to do in the wake of the Sephiroth clones. A whole section of the highway had been utterly demolished in the name of killing them off, but Reno takes at least partial credit for that. He’d set up the bombs that tore the concrete apart in a blaze of fireworks manufactured by Rude, after all.

It doesn’t take too long to park, having a designated spot and a keycard to the building. Reno steps into the elevator with a bunch of strangers and swipes his card to allow him up to the very top floor, where Reeve Tuesti sits up high in his office, watching over all of his efforts to rebuild what Meteor destroyed.

“Was the drive alright?” Reeve asks when Reno steps off the elevator, dropping him straight into his office. He’s sitting at his desk with a pen in hand, in the middle of reading through a stack of paperwork. Reno doesn’t envy him.

“It was alright,” he says with a shrug. “So, what’s up?”

Reeve’s lips twist, just barely, in that way they always do when he’s disappointed. Sometimes he likes to chat, to catch up on what’s happening at Healen and tell him how the projects at the WRO are going. Sometimes Reno lets him, but Elena’s always been the chatty one and he’s just not up for it today.

“Vincent Valentine would like an escort,” he says finally. “And a bodyguard.”

Reno scoffs. “Since when does he need either of those?”

If the gauntlet didn’t scare the typical street crook away, then his red eyes certainly would. If anyone from the old AVALANCHE crew needed any kind of escort, Reno would’ve guessed the Wutian princess. Not Vincent Valentine, who has walked through crowds that parted for him in seconds from his glare alone.

Reeve fiddles with his pen. “Consider it a favour.”

It’s not an answer, but Reno can read between the lines. Vincent Valentine isn’t on the WRO’s payroll, he’s definitely not anyone’s responsibility on paper, and he’s barely even Reeve’s friend (despite Reeve claiming otherwise).

“Where we takin’ him?”

“There’s a mountain range next to the river that splits the western continent,” Reeve explains. “And in the mountain range is a cave that’s inaccessible without an aircraft.”

Reno knows about this cave. He remembers Cid bursting into Reeve’s office once during one of his mission briefings, weeks ago, complaining about fuel costs and travel times. Cursing up a storm at Vincent Valentine and his “stupid broken heart.” He smirks.

“So we’re taking him to see his girlfriend?”

Reeve couldn’t dodge that one.

~

The trip to the western continent is mind-numbingly boring. Vincent Valentine sits in the back, eyes closed, arms folded, feet flat on the floor, for the entire flight there. Elena hasn’t seen him since the Forgotten City, back when she was bleeding out and half-lucid from torture.

It’s not something she wants to think about.

Elena wonders if he’s bored. Or maybe he’s asleep. She can’t tell, but it isn’t long before she decides to ignore him and pulls a book out of her bag. The Edge Public Library officially opened earlier in the year, and she signed up for a library card on their first trip back to the city that month.

Books fill most of her time now, since the Turks aren’t necessary in the new world order that Reeve Tuesti is so intent on building. It’s one extensive work in progress until mako-less technology can catch up, but she doesn’t mind going back to analog for books. The pages are satisfyingly gritty between her fingers, unlike her old e-reader, and the ink is faded but legible; she’s halfway through her novel before Reno’s voice sounds over the headsets.

“That the cave?” he asks, and Elena peers out of the helicopter. A whirlpool sits below them, swirling violently as the river that splits the continent gets pulled in and spat back out.

Vincent, who was apparently awake this whole time, opens his eyes and turns to look. “Yes. There’s enough room for the helicopter to land on that strip there.”

It takes some careful maneuvering, and at one point Elena is sure they’ll tip right off the mountainside and into the whirlpool, but Reno lands safe and sound without fanfare. She’d applaud him, but he doesn’t need the boost to his ego.

Vincent leaves without a word as soon as they’re grounded, taking off his headset and dropping onto the dusty mountainside. He makes a bee-line straight for the cave.

“So much for a thanks,” Reno grumbles over the comms as Elena jumps out and heads after him.

~

It becomes routine. Reeve calls them in and asks them to escort Vincent Valentine, and within the hour they’re on the WRO’s helipad revving up a helicopter. Tseng officially designates Reno and Elena as the escorts, since he and Rude are busy doing other things, and it becomes an almost monthly occurrence.

Reno hates it, but maybe not as much as sitting around Healen Lodge for days on end.

They spend hours parked on the mountainside, Reno in the helicopter as he watches Elena stand guard by the cave’s entrance. Elena always brings a book or three for the trip, finishing at least one of them by the time they touch down back in Edge. Reno plays music and debates learning how to knit or embroider or something else completely inane because having nothing to do for hours on end is the worst.

At least back when the Turks actually meant something to the world, stakeouts like this meant someone was going to die by the end of the night. Not that Reno wants to go back to killing for a living, but even taking out a monster infestation would be better than waiting for whenever Vincent Valentine decided he was done brooding in a dark cave for the day.

~

“I should check on him,” Elena says. “Maybe.”

She can hear Reno crunching on popcorn over their comms and debates just heading back to the helicopter. Vincent Valentine doesn’t need her standing guard outside. He can handle himself, especially when her stomach is growling.

“Your call, ‘Laney,” Reno says.

“Just pass me the maltesers,” she grumbles, heading up to the helicopter. Reno tosses them out for her and she catches them, ripping the bag open and mashing a handful of the chocolates into her mouth. “I’m so fuckin’ hungry.”

“Should’ve brought takeout. What should we get next time?”

“Shirataki noodles. Been craving ‘em this whole week.”

Reno nods approvingly. “Wonder if the owners of that Wutian dive in the slums made it out of Meteorfall… their ramen was the shit.”

“Maybe we can ask Reeve for this to be a drop-off, pick-up type deal,” Elena suggests, sitting back against the mountainside. “Then we can fly straight to Wutai. Get the authentic stuff.”

Reno checks his watch. “It’s been five fucking hours, the hell does he do in there?”

“Brood,” Elena says. “Sometimes, when I turn my comm off, I can hear him talking.”

“What does he talk about?”

Elena shrugs. “No idea.” They trade bags, maltesers for popcorn, and Elena grins when she realizes it’s her favourite, covered in white cheddar powder. “You said Cid Highwind used to bring him out here?”

“Yeah. Did it a few times,” Reno says, “but it’s a lot of fuel. Got expensive, plus it’s a time-sink, so he got mad about it and refused to do it anymore.”

“So they put us on it.” Elena rolls her eyes. “Because we have nothing better to do. Literally.”

Healen Lodge isn’t bad, but staying there for weeks or months on end isn’t exactly Elena’s dream situation when the Turks have barely any responsibilities unless Reeve wants something. Other than lying low and keeping Rufus Shin-Ra off the grid, there’s really, truly, nothing to do.

“Sounds about right,” Reno agrees. 

“Why do you think we’re not saving her? The girl trapped in the crystal?”

“Who knows. Reeve’s got enough going on,” Reno says, “and let’s be real, we’re the only people who know about this place other than AVALANCHE.”

“Makes sense. Maybe she’s in there on purpose, like when Vincent was in that coffin.” Elena licks the powder off her fingers. “Think they’re dating?”

“A vampire and some broad trapped in crystal. What a pair.”

~

It doesn’t take a month this time for Reeve Tuesti to call Reno and Elena in from Healen. Reno vaguely hopes it’s for something exciting. Something involving a gun back between his palms. The monotonous flights back and forth between Edge and the cave really make him crave something more exciting. Almost anything would be better than this.

Reeve smiles almost apologetically as they enter his office. “You’re to escort Vincent again,” he says shortly. “The helicopter has already been prepped. You’re to leave within the hour.”

Reno watches as Elena pins Reeve with an unimpressed look. “I hope you have something more interesting for us when we get back,” she says.

Their time this past month has been split evenly between Healen Lodge and Edge, taking care of Rufus Shinra and helping out where they can with the WRO. But supply routes are boring when there’s nothing but barren country roads and city wreckage, and there’s only so much they can do back at Healen when Rufus Shinra is on bedrest. His Geostigma might be gone, but there are other concerns with his health now.

Elena turns to leave, but Reno stays back. “Gonna tell us what her name is, at least?”

A pained look flashes cross his face, but Reeve’s back to neutral in the second it takes to register. “Lucrecia,” he says after a long moment. “Lucrecia Crescent.”

~

It only takes a few Moogle searches to find out who Lucrecia Crescent is. A biotechnologist who worked with Hojo and Gast on the Jenova Project, according to an archived pharmaceutical journal. Married to Hojo, reports an internal Shin-Ra gossip column.

Elena scrolls through the articles on her PHS as they fly over the Junon harbour, trying to piece together where Vincent Valentine fits in.

“Find anything?” Reno asks over the comms, voice crackling with static.

“Yeah. Nothing from Tseng yet, though.” She’d texted him on their group chat while on the helipad. Just her name, nothing else. He’ll understand.

They cross the ocean, go around the Gold Saucer, and land on the same strip of mountain flats as always. Vincent leaves without a word and Elena follows. The silence just gives her more room to think, glancing through the articles she’d tabbed open on her PHS and committing the information to memory through repetition as she stands at her usual post.

“Y’know,” Reno says finally, over their comms, “I heard some rumours once.”

“Like what?”

“Back before Tseng got recruited, there was some guy who worked under Veld who had red eyes.”

Sometimes Elena wonders exactly how old Veld is, the legend of the Turks who’d worked for Shin-Ra back when their unit had been called the Department of Administrative Research. He’d come out of hiding during Meteorfall, helping to evacuate Midgar. If Elena were to wager a guess, she’d figure he’s at least in his fifties.

“You’re saying Vincent used to be a Turk?”

“Yeah. I mean, shit, he was basically a founding member if he was back with Veld.”

Elena thinks it over. An ex-Turk who doesn’t age, who slept for over twenty years in a coffin…

“There was a mission at the Shin-Ra Mansion in Nibelheim a few years back,” Reno continues, “when Veld was still in charge. The reports said a man in a red cape helped them retrieve a materia there, and that Veld knew the man. Tried to convince him to come back, but he refused.”

“And who else do we know with that description,” Elena comments wryly. “But that doesn’t explain his connection to--”

“Hey, Tseng texted back.”

Elena checks her PHS, lit up with one conveniently timed text notification from Tseng. There’s an archived Shin-Ra file attached, and she opens it up. A picture of Lucrecia is at the top of the page, no doubt from her Shin-Ra ID card. She’s pretty, with brown eyes and long brown hair tied in a ponytail. It’s followed by her metrics, like her height and age, and Elena skims through to get to the meat of the profile.

_ Lucrecia Crescent, Biotechnologist on the Jenova Project _

_ Working under Professor Hojo and Professor Gast to genetically recreate the ancient race of the Cetra. ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓. ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓. ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓. _

_ The success of the Project ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓. ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ and lead Shin-Ra to the Promised Land. _

_ Assigned to Turk 004, Vincent Valentine, for the duration of the Jenova Project. _

“Well, shit,” Elena says, and Reno just laughs.

~

On their drive back to Healen that night, Reno listens as Elena rambles on about her hypothesis. It sounds like something out of a two gil romance novel, the kind they sell at grocery store check-outs, but it’s not impossible. After all, the guy’s name is Vincent Valentine. It’s like he was made to be part of a tragic love story.

“So he falls in love with his charge, but she marries Hojo instead for some dumb reason,” Elena finishes. “I dunno, maybe she’s into creeps?”

“Not bad, ‘Laney,” Reno says with a laugh. “I mean, it’s melodramatic enough.”

“Right?” She grins.

As they get closer to the Lodge, the roads turn from paved to dirt. All of Reeve’s focus has been on getting Edge up and running, so Reno doesn’t blame him for not paving it all the way out. Rebuilding the world from the ground up after Meteorfall is a feat in itself, and he commends the man willing to take up that mantle, especially when the only other man with the money to do it is stuck in bed.

“Something’s bothering me though,” Elena says, tone suddenly serious as she sits back.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah…” She fiddles with her fingers for a moment before letting out a sigh. “I just think… why is she stuck in crystal? And why does he keep visiting her? It doesn’t make any sense. He spent twenty years in a coffin only to come out of hibernation, defeat Sephiroth, and pine over a girl?”

It’s a good question, one Reno doesn’t have the answer for. He shrugs. “Who knows? Let him brood. At least we get paid for this nonsense.”

**Author's Note:**

> cue dirge of cerberus.
> 
> writing this for the Trick or Treat 2020 exchange was a lot of fun! :3 i hope u enjoyed it~


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